WiMAX multicast/broadcast services support in home environments

Multicast/broadcast service (MCBCS) is one of the most advanced services of all wireless network standards. Recently, the WiMAX forum introduced MCBCS with three different types of internal data paths that differentiate the ways in which MCBCS data are packaged and delivered. In order to extend WiMAX access to the indoor users in home environment, femtocell technology has been considered. However, an application and evaluation of MCBCS structures over the WiMAX femtocell system have not been studied yet. In this paper, we therefore classify the applicable MCBCS network model for home users in femtocell systems and evaluate the performance of each model in terms of transmission overhead and buffer size required in data packaging. From the results, we note that the separated femto model using type-3 and type-4 data paths has more transmission overhead and requires more buffers than type-1, but these are reduced when the error rate decreases between the femto gateway (Fe-GW) and the WiMAX femto access point (WFAP). Moreover, we confirm that there are no differences in performance among types of model in the combined femto model.